World-renowned graffiti artist, Julius Cavero aka T-KID 170, began his “career” in the mid ‘70s tagging under the name “King 13” for gangs The Bronx Enchanters and The Renegades of Harlem, where he learned how to paint trains. After a gang-related shoot-out, Cavero suffered three shots to the leg, nearly killing him.

In three weeks of hospitalization following the shootout, Cavero sketched endlessly, recreating himself as T-KID 170. At that time, Julius Cavero gave up gang life for street art. That’s not to say he went “straight,” mind you—he was still committing criminal acts of trespassing and vandalism, but those acts made a name for him as one of the most important NYC graffiti artists of the ‘70’s and ‘80s.

T-KID 170 became famous for his unique lettering, illustration style, and extremely prolific train-bombing. In addition to his notable artistic ability, T-KID gained a reputation in the early to mid 1980s as being one of the most feared writers. T-KID’s crew, The Vamp Squad, allegedly robbed and beat many writers attempted to tag trains on their “ghost yard” turf. These guys didn’t fuck around.